San Rafael is on the verge of adopting a new policy for burglar alarms that will increase fines charged to home and business owners when police respond to alarms that have been set off accidentally.

The policy is aimed at cutting down on unnecessary police response, which is taxing on law enforcement resources, said police Lt. Dan Fink. Last year, San Rafael police responded to 2,412 calls triggered by burglar alarms. It was the fourth-most frequent service call, and more than 99% were false alarms.

“The only way to change that behavior,” Fink told the City Council last week, “is to have a fee structure that, unfortunately, punishes people who get false alarms.”

The council approved the alarm ordinance on a first reading Monday. If it’s passed on a second reading, the rules are set to take effect Jan. 1.

Under the new policy, the city will charge a $50 fine when police respond to a false alarm. The fine will increase to $100 for a second offense within one year, $150 for a third, $200 for a fourth and $250 for additional offenses. There will be no fine if police respond to an alarm triggered by criminal activity.

The city may create an “alarm user awareness class” that would give participants a $50 credit toward paying violation fees.

In the past, San Rafael hasn’t charged for one or two false alarms, but has levied a $140 fee on a third or subsequent offense.

False alarms, according to Fink, are typically triggered by human error. In most cases, an alarm that has been set off notifies an alarm company, which then attempts to make contact with the home or business owner. Then, under the company’s discretion, the local police are called.

Alarm owners are required to register each year with the city, and the new rules establish a $20 annual registration fee. Those who don’t register or renew will be charged a $100 fine.

The city plans to hire an outside firm to take care of the administrative work associated with registering alarms and collecting fees. The estimated $15,000 annual cost of that service will be offset by revenue from fines and fees, officials said.

Under a past policy, the city charged a $74 one-time fee for registration, but it stopped charging that fee in 2014. Since then, fewer residents and business owners have registered or updated their information, according to Fink. In some cases, that has created problems for police responding to calls who don’t have up-to-date contact information for alarm owners, he said.

John Sowden, who owns the San Rafael-based security company American Sentry Systems, told the council he was disappointed that city officials didn’t reach out to local security companies in considering changes to its policy.

“My main concern is, I’ve probably been in the alarm business in San Rafael longer than anybody, and we’re not going to talk to the industry, we’re just going to go off and do what we do,” he said.

According to Fink, city staff consulted with the Security Industry Alarm Coalition, a nationwide policy advocacy group.

Steve Keefer, a law enforcement liaison for the coalition, said San Rafael’s proposed fee structure and registration policy are in line with industry “best practices” that the coalition advocates for. Fees for false alarms have helped significantly reduce unnecessary police responses in other communities, he said.